What is the work of the Holy Spirit? How is the work of the Holy Spirit manifested?

What is the work of the Holy Spirit? How is the work of the Holy Spirit manifested?

Relevant Words of God:

When the Holy Spirit works, people are able to actively enter; they are not passive or forced, but are proactive. When the Holy Spirit works, people are glad and willing, and they are willing to obey, and happy to humble themselves, and even though they are pained and fragile inside, they have the resolve to cooperate, they suffer gladly, they are able to obey, and they are untainted by human will, untainted by the thinking of man, and are certainly untainted by human desires and motivations.

When people experience the work of the Holy Spirit, they are especially holy inside. Those who are possessed of the work of the Holy Spirit live out the love of God, the love of their brothers and sisters, and delight in the things that delight God, and loathe the things that God loathes. People who are touched by the work of the Holy Spirit have normal humanity, and they are possessed of humanity and constantly pursue the truth. When the Holy Spirit works within people, their conditions become better and better, and their humanity becomes more and more normal, and though some of their cooperation may be foolish, their motivations are right, their entry is positive, they do not try to interrupt, and there is no malevolence within them. … If, in their everyday lives, people are in a positive state and have a normal spiritual life, then they are possessed of the work of the Holy Spirit. In such a state, when they eat and drink the words of God they have faith, when they pray they are inspired, when something happens to them they aren’t passive, and as it is happening to them they are able to see the lessons that God requires them to learn, and they are not passive, or weak, and although they have real difficulties, they are willing to obey all the arrangements of God.

from “The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Work of Satan” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

When the Holy Spirit works to enlighten people, He generally gives them a knowledge of God’s work, and of their true entry and true state, and He also gives them resolve, allows them to understand God’s eager intention and His requirements for man today, He gives them the resolve to open up every way. Even when people undergo bloodshed and sacrifice they must act for God, and even when they meet with persecution and adversity, they must still love God, and have no regrets, and must stand testimony for God. Such resolve is the stirrings of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Holy Spirit—but know that you are not possessed of such stirrings at every passing moment. Sometimes at meetings you can feel extremely moved and inspired and you give great praise and you dance. You feel that you have an incredible understanding of what others are fellowshiping, you feel brand new inside, and your heart is perfectly clear without any feeling of emptiness—this all pertains to the work of the Holy Spirit. If you are someone who leads, and the Holy Spirit gives you exceptional enlightenment and illumination when you go down to the church to work, making you incredibly earnest, responsible and serious in your work, this pertains to the work of the Holy Spirit.

from “Practice (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Sometimes, when you are enjoying the words of God, your spirit is touched, and you feel that you can’t help but love God, that there is great strength within you, and that there is nothing that you can’t put aside. If you feel like this, then you have been touched by the Spirit of God, and your heart has wholly turned to God, and you will pray to God and say: “O God! We truly have been predestined and chosen by You. Your glory gives me pride, and it feels glorious for me to be one of Your people. I will expend anything and give anything to carry out Your will, and will devote all my years, and an entire lifetime of efforts, to You.” When you pray like this, there will be unending love and true obedience toward God in your heart. Have you ever had such an experience as this? If people are often touched by the Spirit of God, then they are especially willing to devote themselves to God in their prayers: “O God! I wish to behold Your day of glory, and I wish to live for You—nothing is more worthy or meaningful than to live for You, and I have not the slightest desire to live for Satan and the flesh. You raise me up by enabling me to live for You today.” When you have prayed in this way, you will feel that you can’t help but give your heart to God, that you must gain God, and that you would hate to die without having gained God while you are alive. Having spoken such a prayer, there will be an inexhaustible strength within you, and you will not know from where it comes; inside you there will be limitless power, and you will have a great sense that God is lovely, and that He is worth loving. This is when you will have been touched by God. All those who have had such an experience have been touched by God. For those who are often touched by God, changes occur in their lives, they are able to make their resolution and are willing to completely gain God, the love for God in their hearts is stronger, their hearts have completely turned to God, they hold no regard for family, the world, entanglements, or their future, and they are willing to devote a lifetime of efforts to God. All those who have been touched by the Spirit of God are people who seek after the truth, and who have hope of being made perfect by God.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You can be foolish, and there can be no differentiation within you, but the Holy Spirit has but to work for there to be faith in you, for you to always feel that you can’t love God enough, for you to be willing to cooperate, to be willing to cooperate no matter how great the difficulties ahead. Things will happen to you and it won’t be clear to you whether they come from God or from Satan, but you will be able to wait, and you will be neither passive or remiss. This is the normal work of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit works within them, people still encounter real difficulties, sometimes they cry, and sometimes there are things that they can’t overcome, but this is all a stage of the ordinary work of the Holy Spirit. Although they do not overcome those things, and although, at the time, they are weak and make complaints, afterward they are still able to love God with absolute faith. Their passiveness cannot stop them having normal experiences, and regardless of what other people say, and how they attack them, still they are able to love God. During prayer, they always feel that they used to be so indebted to God, and they resolve to satisfy God and renounce the flesh when they encounter such things again. This strength shows there is the work of the Holy Spirit within them….

from “The Work of the Holy Spirit and the Work of Satan” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, man becomes ever more normal, and his humanity becomes ever more normal. Man has an increasing knowledge of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan, and of the essence of man, and he has an ever greater longing for the truth. That is to say, the life of man grows and grows, and the corrupt disposition of man becomes capable of more and more changes—all of which is the meaning of God becoming the life of man.

from “Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

People who have the truth are those who, in their real experiences, can stand firm in their testimony, stand firm in their position, stand on the side of God, without ever retreating, and who can have a normal relationship with people who love God, who, when things happen to them, are able to completely obey God, and can obey God unto death. Your practice and revelations in real life are the testimony of God, they are man’s living out and the testimony of God, and this is truly enjoying God’s love; when you have experienced to this point, the due effect will have been achieved. You are possessed of actual living out and your every action is looked upon with admiration by others. Your appearance is unremarkable, but you live out a life of the utmost piety, and when you communicate the words of God, you are guided and enlightened by Him. You are able to speak God’s will through your words, communicate reality, and you understand much about serving in spirit. You are candid in your speech, you are decent and upright, non-confrontational and decorous, able to obey God’s arrangements and stand firm in your testimony when things befall you, and you are calm and composed no matter what you are dealing with. This kind of person has truly seen God’s love. Some people are still young, but they act as someone of middle age; they are mature, possessed of the truth, and admired by others—and these are the people who have testimony, and are the manifestation of God. Which is to say, when they have experienced to a certain point, inside they will have an insight toward God, and so their external disposition will also stabilize.

from “Those Who Love God Will Forever Live Within His Light” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

When we pray to God, when we enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are especially peaceful, happy, and feel enjoyment. Why is it so enjoyable when we pray to God and receive the work of the Holy Spirit? How can this be? This is a mystery. God’s work and the words which God speaks are trying to awaken the spirit within people, to let our spirit come to life again so that it can listen to the voice of the Creator. It is enjoyable for people when the spirit inside them listens to the voice of the Creator. It is like an orphan meeting his or her parents again: It is both comforting and joyful. People can feel this. In the past people all sought happiness, they would look for it until the end but did not find any answers. When we who believe in God enjoy God—that is, when we enjoy the presence of God, enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit and especially when we enjoy the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit through eating and drinking God’s words—our hearts are released, they are set free. This is particularly enjoyable and is something that many people who believe in God have experienced and tasted.

from “The Importance of Knowing God and the Way to Know God” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)

If you really have the work of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to experience the judgment and chastisement of God when you read God’s words. You will be able to reach this positive result. Some people have already experienced this, and the more they read the words of God, the more they think these words are talking about them. “Hey, this is talking all about me, exactly; it is talking about things deep in my heart.” They are totally convinced, they can’t wait to fall to the ground and pray: “God, these words are about me, they are talking about things in the depths of my heart, they strike at my most vulnerable spot.” Although there is pain in this, they will later be filled with comfort and will ponder these words: How can I know my own corruption? How is this kind of corruption created? How can this kind of corruption be dealt with? What kind of truths do I need to know to deal with it? Will there be this kind of rebelliousness and resistance in the future? How can this satanic nature be stopped? During God’s judgment and chastisement people start undertaking this kind of self-examination. If people always experience and accept God’s words about judgment and chastisement in this way, their life will grow quickly.

from “Only by Obeying God’s Work Can One Be Saved” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)

As long as you seek to know yourself and seek the truth, the Holy Spirit will work in you. Even though you do not feel how the Holy Spirit works, yet you will have more of an understanding of the truth and yourself based on God’s word, well, this is what makes the Holy Spirit’s work so wonderful. It is not supernatural at all in the way it helps you understand yourself and the truth. Don’t you see that God is almighty? Is God not wonderful? This is how wonderful the Holy Spirit’s work is. Externally, you do not know how the Holy Spirit does His work. If you have experienced it for a short time, you basically do not understand. However, after you experience it for a longer period of time, you will see yourself change. Your perspective on matters will change. Your knowledge of God’s word will change and progress. You will have growth and entry when it comes to the truth. Your knowledge of your corruption will be progressively deeper and closer to the essence. These are the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s work.

from “Knowing the Work of the Holy Spirit Is of the Utmost Importance to Man’s Salvation” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (II)